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taking flight into art, love, and life (the blog)

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Big changes going on over here in my studio/biz life. Since moving in our home, all of the online shop inventory has been hanging out in our basement. The UPS man would deliver giant shipments such as this one and then it would all head down into our basement, get unpacked onto shelving, then shipped out to the lovely customers who place orders from the online shop. As business grows, the basement has been taken over with inventory, shipping supplies, and such. It was time to move it all out as we really need the basement for extra living space and creative/stuido space.

I have to say that moving it all out of my home and into a small warehouse space was a HUGE decision for me! It meant finding an affordable rental space, finding + hiring a second employee (Allie!), training that employee, paying rent elsewhere, setting up new printers (did I tell you my printer broke which meant I had to get a new one? LOVE IT - highly recommended for those of you looking to make stunning prints of your artwork!), and so much more - busy! It also meant giving up a bit of control as I wouldn't be so intimately involved in all the details that it takes to run the shop if it weren't being run out of my house.

It's been about a month since the big transition and I'm SO GLAD I went this route. Dani (my assistant who I could not live without) had to do a little gentle nudging to help me take the leap, but it was definitely a good move.

Since then, my mom has been helping me reclaim the basement as true living space, a play area for True, and a creative space for me. Above is a sneak peek at a corner of my creative space - more photos coming soon! The basement is quite large - a huge remodeling project (before/after photos coming soon!) we did before we moved in - so there is room for a big play area, a sweet little fort spot under the stairs, a family room, laundry room, and creative space.

We headed to the junk stores to see what goodies we could find and I brought home the above vintage child's table and chair for True's play area. How cute is that!? The bunny is actually fuzzy to touch. Love!

More before and after photos coming soon!

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ps: I wanted to mention that I'll be participating in The Creative Connection Event coming up in September. SOOOOOOO excited and very much looking forward to the classes, the panels, the people! I love love love that it's the only event that combines handcraft and food with blogging and business savvy - that's my kind of event!

I'll be a panelist(along with Heather Bailey, Kathy Hansen, and Linda Ellis for the topic of the nuts and bolts of launching a creative business. I'll also be one of the pitch slam experts (alongside other experts such Ingrid Liss of Demdaco, Margo Tantau of Hallmark, and more!) on the topic of becoming a designer for a gift company - perfect for those of you interested in licensing your designs to the gift industry!. And finally, I'll be singing books and participating in another breakfast panel of other women entrepreneurs (other panelists include Janine Vangool, Karen Walrond, Leigh Standley, Melody Ross and Susan Branch).

For those of you up for an adventure to Minnesota, come and join us! I'd love to meet you and perhaps see you in one of the handmade classes! It's been a long time since I've attended a retreat....I'm ready!

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E-course registration closes later TODAY! Want to know what all the fuss is about? Check out what you're saying over on this post!